low-carb-peanut-butter-fudge

Ahhh fudge, yes FUDGE! This fudge is merely 1.5 net carbs and 3 Weight Watchers points per chunk of heaven. It is a very easy recipe to make but be careful not to overindulge.

You can make this recipe with either unsalted butter or hard margarine.

There is a common misconception that margarine is “one molecule away from plastic”. This my friends is simply not true.

*Plastic is a polymer, made up of a long chain of repeated smaller molecules. Plastics are usually made from crude oil and natural gas, but can be made from natural materials such as wood, corn, plants, and even sugars. In fact, one of the earliest plastics made in the 1800’s was from milk. Yes, plastic and margarine can be made from vegetable oil, that is where any similarity ends. The claim is nonsensical – adding one molecule to margarine won’t turn it into plastic.

Even if it were true, it’s worth considering that one molecule can make a world of difference. Many natural substances are very similar in chemical composition but very different in appearance and effect. One molecule, and more importantly how the molecules are arranged, makes a huge difference to the end product. Take for example the difference between hydrogen peroxide and water, which have only one atom difference.*

Nutritionally, butter and margarine are very similar. Some of the distinct differences is 1 cup of butter has 488mg of cholesterol and margarine 0mg. Also, butter has 54.5mg of potassium (heart friendly) and margarine has 86.3mg per cup.

Personally I prefer to bake with butter primarily due to taste but will not hesitate to use margarine when in a pinch.

Source: Heartfoundation.org.nz